Your Personal Ceremony

About this pro

We truly listen to who you are as a couple and help you personalize your ceremony, including the tone of the language. We co-create the ceremony with you - so people think that we have known you as a friend rather than someone you hired through the internet. And we really are available to help out day of - with details at both the ceremony and the reception. We go the extra mile for you as a couple. Plus we are both very personable and creative - and really care about people. We don't charge you extra if there's a time glitch or the bride's brother from Israel is lost in the city and get there half hour late. We really do care about the quality of the experience for everyone present.
We just love meeting with couples. This is such an important day in your lives that we are planning together, a joyous occasion. We are good at helping couples feel grounded and together day of, so they really DO have a memorable wedding day.

23 years in business

13 hires on Thumbtack

3 employees

Reviews

4.6

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16 reviews

5

88%

4

0%

3

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2

13%

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Holly H.

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I absolutely LOVED working with Joanie. First she met up with us back in March at her home to talk to us and have us fill out a questionnaire about ourselves. Then she went through the questionnaire and multiple different weddings and options to pick out for our vows. Once we had a good idea as to what we wanted, she wrote lots of notes and waited for our call-back to make sure we were for sure interested. Once we called her back and got the ball rolling, over the extent of the next several months (April to September) we emailed and talked back and forth with how we wanted the ceremony to go and FINALLY finalized everything and waited for the big day to come!!
Once the day prior to the wedding came (during the rehearsal) she met up with us at the site and walked us through everything and verified everyone was doing what they needed to be doing. Then we all enjoyed a delicious dinner and carried!! Then came the big day, she was there in time and had met up with the DJ prior to make sure everything went nice and smooth and they were both on point. After the whole wedding ceremony we all met up signed papers, took pictures and finally all enjoyed some dinner and beverages.
All in all Joanie was awesome and did a wonderful job, with no problems at all!! We are so thankful and grateful for the beautiful ceremony she provided for us!! I HIGHLY recommend "Your Personal Ceremony" to anyone that is in need of a officiate at their wedding. Thank you so much Joanie!!!

Oct 24, 2015

Erin E.

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Joanie was a pleasure to work with. She helped craft our Ceremony, took the lead when needed and even used her native drumming skills. She was prompt, friendly and professional. Highly recommended!

Jul 22, 2015Verified

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Photos and Videos

9 photos and 3 videos

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FAQs

What types of customers have you worked with?

Our niche is personalized wedding ceremonies, especially interfaith weddings. We also do elopements in our living room or backyard. Ana Villarqui is our Spanish, Bi-lingual Wedding Officiant available for Hispanic wedding ceremonies. We have married couples in prison, jail and even one death-bed wedding. Mostly we create non-denominational personalized wedding ceremonies and help each couple create a very special wedding ceremony unique to them. We provide rehearsal guidance, file the legal papers, and send each couple a final copy of their ceremony on parchment paper. Our couples become our very dear friends through the process of creating their wedding ceremony, one that they and their guests will remember for years to come.

What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

Really think about the kind of ceremony you want rather than the cost of the officiant. We are among the best in Portland - and so you might need to pay a bit more for a quality wedding ceremony.

What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?

There are many people who put out that they do wedding ceremonies, but not many that truly do a good job. We have heard nightmare stories from people whose relative hired someone cheap who was just that - cheap. Its important to be discerning about who you hire.